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By Dan Mielke

Grace Baptist Church

As we look at Resurrection Sunday, a lot of things are going to look different than they did last year. Even though many of our traditions will look different, our situation in 2020 resembles the first Resurrection Sunday.

The first Resurrection Sunday was not celebrated at a church building, but took place in confinement and lockdown. After Peter and John ran to the tomb, John 20 tells us that they went back home and lived in lock down mode.

“On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,” (John 20:19). That’s it, no Easter egg hunt, family pictures, or ham dinners. I think we can learn a lot from the reactions of both the early Disciples and the Jewish leaders.

If we look at the Disciples, we see that they sought deliverance through physical means. Where were they? They were locked inside. Why were they locked in? The passage tells us they were afraid. What were they afraid of? They were afraid of the Jewish leader’s reaction to the unknown, and because of their fear, they sought safety behind locked doors.

If we look at the Jewish leaders, we see that they sought protection through the same physical means. Do you remember what the leaders said to Pilate? They said they were afraid that without a Roman guard, the Disciples would try to fake a Resurrection. Their cure for the fear of the unknown was to lock the tomb.

Is this strategy any different than the route taken by the Disciples? Both groups seemingly were trusting in their locking method to protect them from each other. The leaders locked the tomb to protect themselves from the Disciples, and the Disciples locked the door to protect themselves from the leaders. Their fear had caused separation and isolation.

What I find so interesting is neither lock worked. Jesus is not constrained by the lock in the room or the tomb. The passage in John 20 continues, “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”

The lock designed to bring peace only resulted in more fear for the Disciples. The closed door sealed in the suffocating fear. When Jesus entered the room of those asphyxiated by fear and isolation, He gave them the fresh air of peace.

You see, both groups were actually trusting in the same thing. Even though the leaders were not locked away in their little rooms, they had locked the tomb. I wonder which group slept better Saturday night, the Jewish leaders or the Disciples? I wonder which group locked their door after Sunday? Both groups were trusting in their locks to save them from the fear of uncertainty and were confident that their locks would hold fast.

I wonder, are we trusting in our locks? I am not advocating violating social distancing guidelines, but I am wondering if we resemble the Disciples or religious leaders in hoping that our isolation will save us from fear.  Are we finding like the Disciples that the closed door may seem safe, yet the locked room without Jesus is still filled with fear? As you spend this Resurrection Sunday in lockdown, let this passage remind you that even though the door is locked, Christ can come in and dispel your fear.

Maybe you are more like the leaders, hoping to forget about Jesus by locking the tomb. Maybe you want nothing to do with Jesus, and so have locked the tomb of your heart. To that I ask the question, “What is it about the Resurrection that scares you, that you wish to keep it locked?”